450 ANNUAL. REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The section cooperated with tlie Division of Publications in pre- 

 parin«j: two motion pictures entitled Apples and the County Agent 

 and Clul) ("hninpions at C'anij) VnW. 



A minieograplied circular on ^Suggestions Regarding the Classifi- 

 cation of Photographs of Agricultural Subjects for the Use of Ex- 

 tension Workers was prepared and sent to employees and cooperators 

 of the service during the year, and at the request of the Virginia 

 and Tennessee extension services a representative of the section 

 attended State conferences in each State to discuss methods of se- 

 curing and using photographs in extension and other educational 

 work in agriculture and home economics. 



Duplicating Section. — The duplicating work of the service was 

 organized as a section of the Elditorial Division, March 15, 1920. 

 The consolidation thus put into effect has resulted in a material in- 

 crease in efficiency and economy in this work. 



INVESTIGATION ON AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS. 



Erwin H. Shinn, Specialist in Agricultural Education. - 



The chief object of the work of the States Relations Service re- 

 lating to agricultural instruction in schools is to make available to 

 teachers and students of agriculture the agricultural knowledge 

 constantly being accumulated by the Department of Agriculture, 

 the agricultural colleges, and the experiment stations. Since the 

 movement for the introduction of agriculture into secondary and 

 elementary schools is now widespread and the up-to-date informa- 

 tion on agricultural subjects in form for immediate use in the 

 schools is comparatively meager the demand for this kind of service 

 is steadily groAvinjj. 



By cooperation with the bureaus of the department the services 

 of its corps of specialists in the various branches of agriculture are 

 made available in collecting the desired information. And through 

 cooperation with the Federal Board for Vocational Education, as 

 provided for in the vocational education act, the Bureau of Educa- 

 tion, State departments of education, and agricultural colleges, the 

 needs of the schools in different parts of the country are determined 

 and complied with. In these ways the small force of specialists in 

 agricultural instruction employed by the States Relations Service 

 is enabled to render a useful service to the cause of agricultural edu- 

 cation not performed by any other agency. 



The work at present is being carried on along the following lines: 

 (1) Cooperation with the Federal Board for Vocational Education 

 in the preparation of publications for use in the secondary schools, 

 particularly those receiving the benefits of the vocational education 

 act; (2) cooperation with the States in preparing courses of study 

 in agriculture for elementary schools; (3) cooperation with the 

 teacher-training forces in the States by helpful publications, con- 

 ferences, correspondence, and the loan of illustrative material; (4) 

 cooperation Avith the teachers in service by furnishing information 

 for use in their schools, bv givinir suircfestions on the use of such 

 material, by encouraging home project work, and by lending lantern 

 slides on agricultural subjects. 



